Who else really stands head and shoulders above most? I honestly haven't been dazzled by anythng Overeem has shown yet in MMA. Jones is obviously extraordinarily effective, but I hesitated to include him because he doesn't typically get the same "wow" that the technique of the other three elicits.

I added Machida because DamnSevern reminded me I had forgotten him. But then I thought, Jones and Shogun both beat him standing, so logically they would have to go on too. And personally I just don't feel like those guys are indisputably in that god tier like the three I listed are (especially Shogun, who is often quite sloppy).

So I guess with this list I mean true God Tier in terms of striking in MMA.

Do they have to have produced "wow" in MMA to be a serious world-class striker? Sometimes the best strikers do not "wow" in MMA because they (obviously) can't solely concentrate on striking.

Not sure about leaving Reem and Hunt off your list simply for the their K-1 Grand Prix Champion accomplishments. Pretty hard to ignore that type of pedigree when discussing strikers. Same with Semi Schilt (sp?) who fought in Pride.

I'd also have to say Crocop (during Pride, ret.). Right leg hospital, left leg morgue.

Melvin Manhoef. I always wanted to see Manhoef vs. Anderson Silva with K-1 rules. Holy crap that would have been good.

Definitely agree with other folks including Jones, Machida, Barboza and Cung Le. How about Cyrille Diabate?

I think Barboza is among the elite. Etim is a damn good kickboxer and we saw how that went. Hopefully people keep underestimating him because of the Varner fight, and I can keep betting him in the -2xx range.

Sorry if he can't leap off cages, has to do with him being 6'5" and built like an armored vehicle. His knees are already the standard by which all else are judged.

Pettis hasn't just leaped off cages to fit the criteria. He's never been out-struck on the feet.

Overeem on the other hand, has been out-struck several times, i.e. vs. Sergei, Shogun, Chuck, etc.

It's not just Pettis' creativity or offense which makes him elite. It's his striking defense. He seldom gets hit. He circles to a position where you can't him him temporarily, and when Cerrone was lined up look how quickly Pettis would back off when Cerrone started to charge. Look at all the champions, striking D is a common thread amongst their success. Andy, Jones, Cruz, Aldo, and GSP have top notch striking defense. Bendo's and Cain's are solid, not withstanding Cain getting hit as a stationary target w/ a torn acl. As they say, defense wins championships, and that especially rings true in a sport you can lose solely based off one moment.

I think Reem could be there but in MMA and of recent, he hasnt cemented it yet, but he will.

Jones, i think is up there but its also a mix with his wrestling. There is nothing wrong with utilizing his reach, lol, as if other strikers dont but like GSP, i still think his wrestling is a good core behind it, though he did find his timing on Machida so....

Sorry if he can't leap off cages, has to do with him being 6'5" and built like an armored vehicle. His knees are already the standard by which all else are judged.

Pettis hasn't just leaped off cages to fit the criteria. He's never been out-struck on the feet.

Overeem on the other hand, has been out-struck several times, i.e. vs. Sergei, Shogun, Chuck, etc.

It's not just Pettis' creativity or offense which makes him elite. It's his striking defense. He seldom gets hit. He circles to a position where you can't him him temporarily, and when Cerrone was lined up look how quickly Pettis would back off when Cerrone started to charge. Look at all the champions, striking D is a common thread amongst their success. Andy, Jones, Cruz, Aldo, and GSP have top notch striking defense. Bendo's and Cain's are solid, not withstanding Cain getting hit as a stationary target w/ a torn acl. As they say, defense wins championships, and that especially rings true in a sport you can lose solely based off one moment.

Big up on the defense aspects esp on someone like Cruz, people dont realize how sophisticated his movement and defense is.

"Not sure about leaving Reem and Hunt off your list simply for the their K-1 Grand Prix Champion accomplishments."

I haven't seen them be truly impressive with their striking in MMA. Overeem fleeing from Werdum while eating shots and running from Kharitonov before getting KTFO is probably enough to disqualify him right there, along with many of his LHW fights.

I thought about Diabate but I admit I haven't paid a ton of attention to most of his fights.

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